As much as we hated Xi’ An, we love Chengdu. Maybe more. It has wide, tree-lined streets, blue skies, beautiful architecture, a lovely river, and reasonable traffic (at least by Chinese standards). We felt completely safe roaming the streets at 10 o’clock last night.
Chengdu just plain looks prosperous and the people are happy and smiling.
Of course, that’s a lot easier to do when you’re prosperous.
NOTE: The lighted bridge over the river is just across the street from our hotel, which is the skyscraper just to the right of the bridge.